Elected

I haven’t written a post in a couple of weeks because I’ve been editing! I think I’m almost finished with edits for now. Of course I’d edited Elected for a long time before submitting to agents. However, when I got signed, I received a wonderful agent, Sara D’Emic from Talcott Notch, who invested time in giving me additional feedback before the book goes out to publishers. She pointed out “fridge logic” issues (that’s a tv term where you’re watching something, get off the couch to eat from the fridge, and it’s in those few seconds that you realize something doesn’t make sense in the tv program), and she gave me thoughts on bigger edits like how to make characters come alive better, etc.

I also have a writer’s circle that meets once a month via conference call to discuss edits too. I met them at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). They’ve been ultra-supportive through the entire process of submitting queries, and I’m happy to report that one of my fellow writers in the circle just got offered a contract by a lit agent too! So excited for him!

My favorite editing suggestions are those I’ve heard from my writer’s circle and then heard again in a different way from my agent–the ones that I hadn’t changed yet because my mind hadn’t wrapped around how to do so. Hearing the different perspectives on an editing suggestion sometimes clicks a neuron in my brain. This happened a few times recently, and I was finally able to resolve some plot and character challenges (ex. world building in Washington DC 2115, making Griffin more tender even though a lot of his scenes with Aloy are filled with angst).

I can’t say editing is my favorite process of writing a book, but it’s gotten a lot easier over time. And I expect that if/when (fingers crossed) the Elected series sells to a publisher, I’ll receive another set of edits to do. No sweat!